Shloka 16
Sārasvata–Dadhīca Upākhyāna at Sarasvatī Tīrtha
Balarāma’s Pilgrimage Context
जैगीषव्यं ततो5पश्यद् गतं प्रागेव भारत । भारत! नदीपति समुद्रके पास पहुँचते ही धर्मात्मा देवलने देखा कि जैगीषव्य वहाँ पहलेसे ही गये हैं ।।
jaigīṣavyaṃ tato 'paśyad gataṃ prāg eva bhārata | bhārata nadīpatiṃ samudraṃ upasaṃprāpte dharmātmā devalo 'paśyat jaigīṣavyam tatra pūrvam eva gatam || tataḥ sa vismayadr̥ṣṭāntāṃ cintāṃ jagāmātha amitaprabhaḥ | sa mene—kathaṃ nu bhikṣur ayaṃ pūrvam ihāgataḥ, samudre snānakriyām api pariniṣpāditavān iti ||
随后，德瓦拉看见阇伊吉沙维耶已先行而至，噢婆罗多。正法之士德瓦拉抵达大海——诸河之主——时，发现阇伊吉沙维耶早已在彼处。于是，光辉无量的圣者阿悉多·德瓦拉既惊且忧，陷入沉思：“这位行乞的出家人怎会先我到此？他甚至已完成海中沐浴之仪！”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical-spiritual contrast between outward effort and inner attainment: a dharmic sage is humbled by another ascetic’s unexpected precedence, prompting self-examination rather than envy—an implicit lesson in humility, reverence for tapas, and recognition of unseen spiritual capacities.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Asita Devala reaches the ocean and discovers Jaigīṣavya has arrived earlier and already completed the sea-bathing rite. Devala is astonished and begins to ponder how the mendicant could have preceded him.